CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cuyahoga County charter requires the new council to pass an ethics code, but early drafts reveal tensions over how far the council can go to regulate conduct and to whom the policy would apply.

Reform-minded council members who campaigned to clean up county government say they want a strong policy to signal zero tolerance for misconduct. Republican Councilman Dave Greenspan has taken the lead as chairman of the ethics committee, ushering through a number of proposals that are far stricter than state laws governing conduct of public employees.

In some cases, the measures have raised objections from fellow council members. One provision would make it a violation for employees to reveal confidential information, including council members who talk about subjects discussed in closed-door meetings. The language was viewed as overly broad by some members and acting Law Director Ed Morales.

"It will be difficult to administer. It will cause problems in the field," Morales told Greenspan's committee this week.

Another measure requiring employees to cooperate fully with a county inspector general's investigation raised concerns about violating the right not to incriminate oneself.

Councilwoman Sunny Simon, a lawyer who sits on the ethics committee, called the provision unconstitutional. "What this does is penalize someone for asserting constitutional rights," she said.

In another area dealing with misuse of county resources, some council members believe distinctions are necessary to protect incidental uses such as personal phone calls on a county line. Greenspan responded, "There comes a point where common sense comes into play. . . . If we put in the word incidental, how do you define incidental?"

For the most part, Greenspan has yielded to colleagues' concerns, striking objectionable language in some cases and asking the Law Department to craft new language in others.

Greenspan said he would also vet the proposed ordinance with the Ohio Ethics Commission, starting with a meeting in Columbus on Monday. The policy also will be the subject of public hearings before the council votes on a final version late next month.

Still other complications lie ahead. There has been uncertainty about whether the ethics ordinance can be applied to the independent offices of Prosecutor Bill Mason and county judges and agencies that are not under the purview of the county executive.

Some members oppose the creation of an independent ethics board to enforce the ordinance, a move recommended by transition advisers. And it's unclear whether the council will heed the advice of transition advisers for a whistleblower provision that goes beyond state law. The advisers called for one that would not only guide whistleblowers and protect them from retaliation, but would also require employees to report possible violations.

The transition group on ethics believed the ordinance should apply to all county employees and appointees to dozens of boards and commissions but not to the judicial branch, which is governed by a separate state law, said Lynda Mayer, who co-chaired the group.

Councilman Dale Miller, who is vice chairman of the council ethics committee, said he agrees the council cannot impose rules on the judiciary, and he acknowledgeddebate over whether the council can force the policy on the prosecutor's office.

Mason said through a spokeswoman Wednesday that he believes the ethics code applies to his office. "This office has never held a contrary position," Mason said.

Greenspan, meanwhile, said he will meet with County Executive Ed FitzGerald on Friday to discuss the role of incoming Inspector General Nailah Byrd. Greenspan has suggested the inspector general should enforce the ethics ordinance rather than a council-appointed ethics board.

Miller said that whatever form the legislation takes, he expects it to face legal challenges.

"If there weren't any court cases, my opinion is we were too timid in writing the law," he said.

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